Ruben Do Valle reunites with Bárbara Bandeira for a strikingly cinematic vision where the Portuguese pop singer explores her roots and takes part in a spectacular ceremony - to become un-wedded.

Following the director's video for Marcha, which focusses upon the tension between tradition and change in modern Portugal, his film for Mau Olhado addresses new themes - superstition, fate, obsession and the impossibility of emotional closure - through a symbolic narrative and highly impressive visual setpieces.

Bárbara Bandeira's performance of Mau Olhado (which translates as Evil Eye) again explores the clash between old and new, as a 1930s car brings her to a old-world university and within the scope of her lover. Bandeira brings pop star charisma to the piece with a dance routine interrupting the narrative.

The climactic 'unwedding' ritual is almost Bergmanesque in its drama and setting: a priest-like figure, played by veteran actor José Raposo, officiates at a ceremony amid a crowd of robed onlookers on black rocks on the Portuguese coastline, establishing a highly dramatic atmosphere.

Shot on 35mm film, in locations such as the Bugio lighthouse and the historic University of Coimbra, the narrative blends religious and folkloric imagery with a raw, tactile visual language. It juxtaposes isolation, ritual and Portuguese cultural identity with a contemporary pop sensibility. Very striking and impressive work indeed.